CRAFT: Now What? How Patience & Building Relationships Can Pay Off for CNF Writers by Angel R. Ackerman

I started writing for newspapers when I was in high school. I was a stringer for the Newark Star-Ledger in college. In the aughts, I was pitching my novel to New York agents. And in between every job, I was freelancing for the Morning Call, a daily newspaper covering Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.

Writing is as much about waiting as it is about words.

Whether you are pitching an article or a book, or merely waiting for the editor to return your draft, or worse — waiting for the item to run so you can get paid — writers wait.

But how do you know when to wait and when to act? How long should you wait?

The answers depend on the level of communication you have with the entity, the type of relationship you have and how that entity fits into your goals as a whole.

I freelanced periodically for the same editor at the Morning Call for seven years. Every time I found myself needing to make ends meet, I contacted him and he put me back in action. I always kept him informed of changes in my career or plans, and he always served as a consistent reference for me as I moved between employers. Even when I wasn’t working for him or looking for work, I maintained contact.

And, in the end, that paid off. In addition to all the newspaper work I did for him — some of which are the only bylines I have that have been archived online; it’s strange how many newspapers I used to work for no longer exist in any form — he approached me about a new opportunity to write for him twenty years after I originally worked for him.

My memory of our original connection has faded, but at that time I’d been working in public relations for Lafayette College. When I transitioned to journalism work, I sent him a cold email and he invited me to lunch (at Josie’s New York Deli, for downtown Easton aficionados).

I was young and my newspaper experience had been in a small town weekly newspaper (writing features) and that stringer job in the pre-cell phone era. He took a chance on me and I don’t know if he even remembers what he told me that day. I asked him why he was giving me a chance, and he answered because I could write a sentence and he could teach me the rest.

My relationship with that editor I protected and maintained and he never let me down.

So, how do you develop such relationships? A lot of it is luck, or sending a message or making a phone call at the right time. But knowing when to get in touch and what to say is a huge part of the equation.

Here are four examples of people who did not demonstrate proper patience in their correspondence with me as a potential publisher for their work:

• The Saturday telephone call: Early one Saturday morning, I got a phone call from someone who had found my number online. The person sounded nice, but he spoke very fast, and told his tale of unemployment and desperation. I recommended he send me an email with all his information and his pitch. While my heart goes out to him, he wrote down my contact information wrong and ended up calling me several more times on the weekend.

TIPS: Speak clearly if you call someone, and if you leave a message, repeat your name and phone number. Spell it if you have to. Ask how best to follow-up if the person does not tell you automatically. Be respectful of traditional business hours or ask if the person has appointments available on weekends or evenings.

• The silent self-publisher: This author had a self-published book that did not do well. She asked my opinion, and I gave some suggestions on how to improve the manuscript. She immediately made the changes and returned the manuscript to me within 48 hours. I looked at the material two weeks later and got in touch with her about her goals. I was excited about the new form of this concept. She replied that she had already self-published the new book.

TIP: If you approach someone and they take the time to give you criticism, it is considered proper to give that person a chance to proceed in publishing/representing the work. In this case, this author did not compensate me for my participation in her product. I can guarantee I will not consider her again as a traditional publishing client.

• The impatient person: I received an unsolicited submission after one of my authors had a public event. Not even 48 hours after receiving this email, I received a follow-up from this writer asking what I thought of their work.

TIP: Look for clues online about when to follow-up with a busy professional. If you’re not sure, gauge how much time you have versus how busy you think they are. If you have a deadline and it’s getting close, send the email. Just remember that a small business owner and a Manhattan literary agent work on different time frames.

• The unsolicited person in a rush: This one broke my heart. A poet submitted a manuscript to me in August. I did not have a chance to look at it until October. (I only look at unsolicited manuscripts when I’m feeling relaxed and “caught up” — do you want a distracted editor evaluating your work?) I loved this work and accepted the manuscript, only to be told it was no longer available. Upon more research on my end, I learned the author was scheduled to self-publish the collection in two more weeks. I wish he would have contacted me and told me he decided to self-publish. It might not have changed anything, but it might have motivated me to make more time. I hope his book performs well.

In these examples, there are different types of “mistakes.” So, if you are cultivating new relationships, consider every contact a potential networking connection and be careful with every interaction. You never know how a person could help you now or in the future. Always approach professionals with some patience and even if you don’t know them well, extend an excess of professional courtesy in case you need that leverage in the future.